Mikhail Tal – too complicated for one show

7/18/2005 – In last Monday's Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looked at one of the most excruciating examples of a Tal game, one the great Latvian world champion had himself not dared to annotate. Dennis got up to Black's 21st move. Today he will show us the rest.

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As I warned in my preview to last week's show, the game Tal-Keller, Zurich
1959 was just a mess of complications. In order to do the game justice, therefore,
we had to break off the show after Black's 21st move. The audience has really
enjoyed the game so far, so I encourage those of you who missed the first part
to show up for part two. I'll quickly bring everyone up to speed on what has
been missed so far, and then we'll all be on the same page for the dramatic,
insanely complex reminder.

In last week’s show, I presented a game from my all-time favorite player,
Mikhail Tal. Not just any game, mind you, but one so complicated Tal himself
refused to annotate it for his chess autobiography. On the one hand, this might
seem hubristic on my part, but I’d prefer to put a more optimistic cast
on it: (a) at least I tried, and (b) there will probably be mistakes in anyone’s
analysis of this game. So I have nothing to lose by trying!

Those of you familiar with The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal might know what
game I have in mind, but for those lacking that outstanding book, I’m
referring to his epic battle with the Swiss player Dieter Keller from Zurich
1959. Keller invites trouble by playing the ultra-sharp Botvinnik Variation
of the Semi-Slav, and he finds it in spades. Tal’s attack comes in wave
after wave, and although Keller defends exceptionally for a long time, he finally
cracks under the pressure – just when he had almost consolidated with
an advantage.

This is a game which will repay careful analysis, but in addition to its utilitarian
value, it’s a beautiful, brilliant game that exemplifies the magic and
ferocity of Tal’s chess at its best. So join me this Monday as we take
a look at this masterpiece; you'll be glad you did!

Dennis Monokroussos'
Radio ChessBase
lectures begin on Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT, which translates to 02:00h GMT,
03:00 Paris/Berlin, 13:00h Sydney (on Tuesday). Other time zones can
be found at the bottom of this page. You can use Fritz or any Fritz-compatible
program (Shredder, Junior, Tiger, Hiarcs) to follow the lectures, or
download a free trial client.

Dennis
Monokroussos is 38, lives in South Bend, IN (the site of the University
of Notre Dame), and is writing a Ph.D. dissertation in philosophy (in the philosophy
of mind) while adjuncting at the University.

He is fairly inactive as a player right now, spending most of his non-philosophy
time being a husband and teaching chess. At one time he was one of the strongest
juniors in the U.S., but quit for about eight years starting in his early 20s.
His highest rating was 2434 USCF, but he has now fallen to the low-mid 2300s
– "too much blitz, too little tournament chess", he says.

Dennis has been working as a chess teacher for seven years now, giving lessons
to adults and kids both in person and on the internet, worked for a number
of years for New York’s Chess In The Schools program, where he was
one of the coaches of the 1997-8 US K-8 championship team from the Bronx, and
was very active in working with many of CITS’s most talented juniors.

When Dennis Monokroussos presents a game, there are usually two main areas
of focus: the opening-to-middlegame transition and the key moments of the middlegame
(or endgame, when applicable). With respect to the latter, he attempts to present
some serious analysis culled from his best sources (both text and database),
which he has checked with his own efforts and then double-checked with his
chess software.

See also

11/28/2018 – The moment we've all been waiting for! Live games (for Premium members) from the 2018 World Championship match in London. Every two games will be followed by a rest day until Game 12 (if necessary) on November 26th which will be preceded by an additional rest day. All rounds start at 15:00 UT (London time) / 16:00 CEST / 10:00 EST. If needed there would be a rapid tiebreak match on Wednesday, November 28th. | Photos: Patricia Claros

See also

8/27/2018 – Live games and commentary from Saint Louis! Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian tied for first place, while Caruana also tied for fourth place in the Grand Chess Tour standings with Wesley So, forcing a playoff match to be held on Tuesday. | Graphic: Saint Louis Chess Club

Video

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